[Added 3-12-1990; amended 12-10-1990; 7-29-2004; 10-4-2021 by Board of Health]
A.
A local floor drain discharge prohibition is required under the MA
Wellhead Protection Regulations, 310 CMR 22.21(2). The floor drain
control, which must be implemented by the municipality, specifically
prohibits the following activity: any floor drainage systems in existing
facilities, in industrial or commercial hazardous material and/or
hazardous waste process areas or storage areas, which discharge to
the ground without a MassDEP permit or authorization. Any existing
facility with such a drainage system shall be required to either seal
the floor drain (in accordance with the state plumbing code, 248 CMR
10.00), connect the drain to a municipal sewer system (with all appropriate
permits and pretreatment), or connect the drain to a holding tank
meeting the requirements of all appropriate MassDEP regulations and
policies. This article has been designed to meet the requirements
for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's Wellhead
Protection "Source Approval" Regulations, 310 CMR 22.21(2)(a)8, within
designated Zone II areas. This model regulation also covers the entire
Town to be consistent with the state regulations (310 CMR 27.00) prohibiting
discharges of the nature discussed in this article.
B.
Whereas.
(1)
Floor drains in industrial and commercial facilities are often
tied to a system leading to a leaching structure (e.g., dry well,
cesspool, leach field) or a septic system; and
(2)
Poor management practices and accidental and/or intentional
discharges may lead petroleum and other toxic or hazardous materials
into these drainage systems in facilities managing these products;
and
(3)
Improper maintenance or inappropriate use of these systems may
allow the passage of contaminants or pollutants entering the drain
to discharge from the leaching structure or septic system to the ground;
and
(4)
Discharges of hazardous wastes and other pollutants to floor
drains leading to leaching structures and septic systems have repeatedly
threatened surface and ground water quality throughout Massachusetts;
and
(5)
Surface and ground water resources in the Town of Chelmsford
contribute to the town's drinking water supplies.
C.
The Town of Chelmsford adopts the following regulation, under its authority as specified in § 201-42.2, as a preventative measure for the purposes of preserving and protecting the Town of Chelmsford's drinking water resources from discharges of pollutants to the ground via floor drains and minimizing the threat of economic losses to the Town due to such discharges.
The Town of Chelmsford Board of Health adopts the following
regulation pursuant to authorization granted by M.G.L. c.111 §§ 31
and 122. The regulation shall apply, as specified herein, to all applicable
facilities, existing and new, within the Town of Chelmsford.
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases
shall have the following meanings:
A public or private establishment where the principal use
is the supply, sale, and/or manufacture of services, products, or
information, including but not limited to; manufacturing, processing,
or other industrial operations; service or retail establishments;
printing or publishing establishments; research and development facilities;
small or large quantity generators of hazardous waste; laboratories;
hospitals.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The accidental or intentional disposal, deposit, injection,
dumping, spilling, leaking, incineration, or placing of toxic or hazardous
material or waste upon or into any land or water so that such hazardous
waste or any constituent thereof may enter the land or waters of the
commonwealth. Discharge includes, without limitation, leakage of such
materials from failed or discarded containers or storage systems and
disposal of such materials into any on-site leaching structure or
sewage disposal system.
An intended drainage point on a floor constructed to be otherwise
impervious which serves as the point of entry into any subsurface
drainage, treatment, disposal, containment, or other plumbing system.
Any subsurface structure through which a fluid that is introduced
will pass and enter the environment, including, but not limited to,
dry wells, leaching catch basins, cesspools, leach fields, and oil/water
separators that are not watertight.
A device designed and installed to separate and retain petroleum-based
oil or grease, flammable wastes as well as sand and particles from
normal wastes while permitting normal sewage or liquid wastes to discharge
into the drainage system by gravity. Other common names for such systems
include MDC traps, gasoline and sand traps, grit and oil separators,
grease traps, and interceptors.
Any substance or mixture of physical, chemical, or infectious
characteristics posing a significant, actual, or potential hazard
to water supplies or other hazards to human health if such substance
or mixture were discharged to land or water of the Town of Chelmsford.
Toxic or hazardous materials include, without limitation, synthetic
organic chemicals, petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive or
infectious wastes, acids and alkalis, and all substances defined as
toxic or hazardous under Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter
21C and 21E or Massachusetts Hazardous Waste regulations (310 CMR
30.000), and include such products as solvents, thinners, and pesticides
in quantities greater than normal household use.
The handling, generation, treatment, storage, or management
of toxic or hazardous materials.
With the exception of discharges that have received (or have
applied and will receive) a Mass DEP- issued permit prior to the effective
date of this article, no floor drain(s) shall be allowed to discharge,
with or without pretreatment (such as an oil/water separator), to
the ground, a leaching structure, or septic system in any industrial
or commercial facility if such floor drain is located in either:
A.
An industrial or commercial process area.
B.
A petroleum, toxic, or hazardous materials and/or waste storage area.
C.
A leased facility without either Subsection A or B of this section, but in which the potential for a change of use of the property to a use which does have either Subsection A or B is, in the opinion of the Board of Health or its agent, sufficient to warrant the elimination of the ground discharge at the present.
A.
The owner of a facility in operation prior to the effective date of this article with a prohibited floor drain system as defined under § 201-44 shall:
(1)
Disconnect and plug all applicable inlets to and outlets from (where
possible) applicable leaching structures, oil/water separators, and/or
septic systems.
(2)
Remove all existing sludge in oil/water separators, septic systems,
and where accessible, leaching structures. Any sludge determined to
be hazardous waste shall be disposed of in accordance with state hazardous
waste regulations (310 CMR 30.00). Remedial activity involving any
excavation and/or soil groundwater sampling must be performed in accordance
with appropriate Mass DEP policies.
(3)
Alter the floor drain system so that the floor drain shall be either:
(a)
Connected to a holding tank that meets all applicable requirements
of Mass DEP policies and regulations, with hauling records submitted
to the Chelmsford Board of Health at the time of hauling.
(b)
Connected to municipal sanitary sewer line, if available, with
all applicable Mass DEP and local permits.
(c)
Permanently sealed. Any facility sealing a drain shall be required
to submit for approval to the Board of Health a hazardous waste management
plan detailing the means of collecting, storing, and disposing any
hazardous materials or wastes.
B.
Any oil/water separator remaining in use shall be monitored weekly,
cleaned not less than every 90 days, and restored to proper conditions
after cleaning so as to ensure proper functioning. Records of the
hauling of the removed contents of the separator shall be submitted
to the Board of Health at the time of hauling.
C.
Compliance with all provisions of this article must be accomplished
in a manner consistent with Massachusetts Plumbing, Building, and
Fire Code requirements.
D.
Upon complying with one of the options listed under § 201-45A(3), the owner/operator of the facility shall notify the Mass DEP of the closure of said system by filing the Mass DEP's UIC Notification Form (which may be obtained by calling Mass DEP at 617-292-5770) and sending a copy to the Chelmsford Board of Health.
The effective date of this article is the dated posted on the
front page of the regulation, which shall be identical to the date
of adoption of the regulation.
A.
Existing facilities.
(1)
Owners/operators of a facility affected by this article shall comply
with all of its provisions within 120 days of the effective date.
(2)
All applicable discharges to the leaching structures and septic systems
shall be discontinued immediately through temporary isolation or sealing
of the floor drain.
B.
New facilities.
(1)
As of the effective date of the regulation, all new construction
and/or applicable change of use within the Town of Chelmsford shall
comply with the provisions of this article.
(2)
Certification of conformance with the provisions of this article
by the Health Department shall be required prior to issuance of construction
and occupancy permits.
Failure to comply with provisions of this article will result
in the levy of fines of not less than $200, but no more than $1,000.
Each day's failure to comply with the provisions of this article shall
constitute a separate violation.
Each provision of this article shall be construed as separate
to the end that, if any provision, or sentence, clause, or phrase
thereof, shall be held invalid for any reason, the remainder of that
section and all other sections shall continue in full force and effect.
